Midpoint of the Conference Semis

Welcome to post number three of For Three! Welcome everyone, whether you are returning or just finding this. For this edition, I want to talk about what I've seen going on in the second round at the midway point. All of these series have been good, and I'm excited to talk about them.

Bucks and C's Tied up at 2 Apiece

Coming into this series, this is the one that fans had their eyes on the most. This series was dubbed the pseudo finals by many NBA fans who felt that this series winner would eventually go on to win the finals. Starting on the Bucks side, Giannis has been shaky this series. This is a surprise for the 2x MVP who seemingly takes over games at will, but the Celtic's scheme has been successful at limiting him. But, he is still the best player in the world, and he had 42 points to propel the Bucks to a win in game three. If I could say one thing to Giannis though, it would be to stop settling for threes. He is an improved shooter, but he has never been good from three. All 29 teams are happy that end in a Giannis three, and he seems to be taking them at an alarming rate this playoffs. Worse than that, he is not even close to being efficient on these shots, shooting 2/16 this playoffs.

Outside of the Greek Freak, the rest of the bucks cast hasn't stepped up in the way that you would like them to in this situation with the absence of Middleton. Jrue Holiday has been playing his butt off on both ends of the floor, but he seems to be struggling to put the ball in the net at a solid rate. Brook Lopez has been good defensively, but struggled on the offensive end. The bucks in general have struggled to get open looks behind the arc due to the great defensive scheme of Ime Udoka, and going forward I would like to see more shot-taking and shot-making from this squad.

For the Celtics, this series hasn't been great either. They have struggled with injuries to players like Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III, but more than they haven't looked great. Outside of seemingly random amazing play from the 35 year old veteran Al Horford, the Jays have been inconsistent. When they play well, the Celtics have been able to win games. But, when they both don't show up, they seem to have no chance at winning a game against this Bucks team. If they want to win this series, the Celtics need the Jays to step up and keep playing great defence against Giannis.

Suns Garner a 3-2 Lead Against the Mavs

Heading into the sixth game of a seven game series, the series still hasn't begun. This is in reference to an old NBA adage that a series doesn't start until a home team loses. Weirdly, enough, I think it is a perfect adage to describe this series. Every time a home team one, it was not because of star power. It was because the others on the team showed up. Whether it's the suns bench actually playing well like they did all year or Dorian Finney-Smith hitting eight threes, the others have been the main factor in this series. I don't say this to discredit the stars though. Devin Booker has been the great on both sides of the ball for the suns, and Luka Doncic has been his usual amazing self on the offensive end. Chis Paul, like the role players, has been streaky. He has been great at Phoenix, but, when he goes to Dallas, he has struggled mightily. If they want to close out the series in 6, the suns others have to step up and they need Chis Paul to have another at least solid game where he can play 30+ minutes.

Heat Have One Game Advantage Over Sixers Through 5

Similar to the Suns Mavs series, this series also has not yet begun. It has been a tale of two extremes, wavering between good wins by both the Heat and the Sixers. The Sixers had looked great with Embiid back in the lineup, appearing to steal the series back. Along with the presence of Embiid, Harden seemed to turn back the clock in the fourth of game four going for 16 points in that quarter alone leading the sixers to the win. But all of the went out the window in game 5. They played with no effort allowing easy buckets on defense and not shooting well on offense. To make it to the ECF, they will have to come out with a lot more intensity and be led by their big three of Embiid, Harden, and Maxey.

This has also been an interesting series for Miami. In the first two games with Embiid out, they didn't look as dominant as people thought they would with Embiid out. When they went to Philly their entire team collectively forgot how to shoot the basketball, with the exception of Jimmy Butler who left his all on the court with amazing scoring outputs in games three, four, and five. When they returned to Miami for game five, they played much better than a lackluster sixers team. To close this one out, they're going to have to lock down the sixers stars and in Jimmy Butler's opinion, the rest will fall into place.

Warriors Hold a 3-1 Lead Over The Grizzlies

This series has been awful. The basketball has been good, but the discourse surrounding it has been insufferable. I'm not going to cover the antics of this series, but the back and fourth between Warriors fans and Grizzlies fans has caused a lot of fans to stay off social media for a while until things calm down. In terms of the actual basketball, the Warriors have shown that they are the better, more experienced team. Going forward, the Warriors will need Klay Thompson to shoot better if they want to make it to the finals and beyond. Jarren Jackson Jr. took and ill advised shot that may have sealed the fate of the Grizzlies, but that's the kind of play I expect from this very young team. They have a bright future and I look forward to seeing them in many more playoffs, but the Warriors got this one. Also, I hope GPII and Ja are able to make full recoveries and be the electric players that they both are.

That's all for this edition of For Three! Hope you enjoyed, and share it with friends and family if you enjoyed. You reading this means a lot to me, so thank you all if you made it this far. Make sure to be tuned into the game, and remember that these are people with their lives outside of the sport and don't get too intense watching or talking about the game. Have a good day y'all!